


Trick or Treat (It isn't Candy)

by Issylang



Series: Jily Challenge Fics [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Also there is some very very mild nsfw, F/M, Halloween, Peter is only briefly mentioned, Single Parent James, Young Harry, and Harry is age 5, and a single parent james fic, and that's about it, it's a halloween fic, it's not explicit, like there is mention of underwear being in someone's back pocket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8441311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Issylang/pseuds/Issylang
Summary: "Looking back on the situation now, Lily realized that the whole ordeal would have been over before it even began if she (or Mary or Marlene) had remembered that they were witches and that they had a very simple solution for having run out of candy. (McGonagall and Flitwick would be so disappointed in them.)"Tumblr Prompt: look I ran out of candy and aren’t you too old to be trick or treating anyways





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my (technically late, but shhh) contribution for October's Jily Challenge. Once again thank you to hmionegrangr on tumblr for running jilychallenge . I promise it’ll be less last minute for November! Also, this is only half-beta’d by the lovely colormayfade on tumblr because this was so last minute, but thank you for what you could do!  
> Also, there is a vaguely nsfw part at the end, where panties and pockets and bathroom stalls are mentioned, but there is nothing explicit, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Looking back on the situation now, Lily realized that the whole ordeal would have been over before it even began if she (or Mary or Marlene) had remembered that they were  _ witches  _ and that they had a very simple solution for having run out of candy. (McGonagall and Flitwick would be so disappointed in them.) 

That being said, none of the girls had ever had much of a clear head when it came to stressful situations, which is why Lily found herself holding a large, empty bowl, and staring up at a very tall man in jeans and a t-shirt. A man who was definitely around her age and definitely not in costume and definitely very, very fit.

“Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating—Oh my God!”

A small child, probably around five or so, had magically appeared next to the man covered in white paint with a silky piece of fabric caught in his hand.

“Trick-or-treat!”

Lily stared at the two of them, empty bowl feeling unreasonably heavy in her hands, and tried to convince the father with a look to explain the situation to his son for her. It was rather obvious that the boy was his son, the latter being nearly an exact replica of the former, from the matching nests of black hair to the complementary trickster grins.

She should have just told them the truth, that they didn’t have any candy left because her roommates had no impulse control. But the little boy in the ghost costume was so adorable, and the man wasn’t all that bad to look at either, and she really didn’t know what to do in situations like this.

“Um, I don’t think she has any candy left in her bowl there, mate, and it’s time we get going home. It’s nearly bedtime for you.”

“But  _ Dad _ , what is she supposed to do without any candy? We have more at home that she can have! As long as Uncle Pads and Uncle Moony didn’t eat it all again.”

Lily really wanted to interject, but she was still struggling to find any words at all to say. She was terrified of what might come out of her mouth if she opened it after she nearly swooned when the man ran his hand through his hair and flashed her an apologetic smile. 

“I don’t know about that, mate. If she’s up to it, she’s more than welcome to join us, but I think she probably doesn’t want our candy.”

The boy suddenly turned his big green eyes on her and jutted his lip out.

“Pwease come back with us, miss...”

“Lily,” she supplied, suddenly finding her voice once again. “And I’d love to help you out with your candy—”

“Harry! My name is Harry Potter!”

“Potter? As in ex-head boy and Gryffindor quidditch captain James Potter?”

Marlene and Mary had appeared behind her in the doorway at some point during the exchange, and their matching smirks told Lily that they definitely remembered her massive crush on the aforementioned James Potter.

“The one and only. You wouldn’t happen to be Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald, all from Gryffindor house, and two grades below me, would you?”

Harry’s giggling at their shocked faces had reminded the group of adults of his presence, and when it was cut off by a large yawn, James immediately snapped back into “dad mode.” 

(Lily found it infuriatingly attractive.)

“It’s time to head home, mate. Say goodbye to the nice ladies.”

“But  _ Dad _ , they have to come back for the candy! Miss Lily said she would!”

He turned his pleading eyes onto Lily once again, and, when combined with the adorable little lisp and the attractive father, she really couldn’t find it in her not to follow them.

“Of course I’ll come back for the candy. Mary and Marlene here can handle the last few trick-or-treaters, right?”

“ _ Of course  _ we can, Lils. Have fun with your new friend and make sure to get us that extra candy,” Mary finished with a wink and Lily could feel her face flushing to match her hair.

James ran a hand through his hair and flashed her an uneasy grin as he picked up Harry.

“Let’s get going then, shall we? This little tyke needs to get into bed.”

“Ghosts don’t go to bed!”

“They do if they want candy.”

Lily decided that the sight of the two boys having a stare down in front of her was probably the most adorable thing that had ever graced her eyes (and that she wouldn’t mind seeing it more, but she was getting ahead of herself, and she needed to stop doing that).

Their house was a modest size just down the street, and there were two men sitting on the front porch that she recognized as Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. 

“Nice to know that the Marauders are still mostly intact after four years, but where is the fourth member? Are the Marauders not as long lasting as expected?”

“Observant, aren’t you? He’s with his mother tonight, something about helping her with his cousins? I don’t really know, I tend not to ask questions when it comes to Pete.”

Lily was saved from having to respond to this by Harry suddenly realizing that they were home. He struggled out of James’ grasp and went sprinting towards the porch.

“Uncle Moony! Uncle Paddy! We need the candy to give Miss Lily! She’s all out and needs it for the other kids! It’s important!”

“Ah, well, you see, Harry, we seem to be in a similar situation here as well.”

“You and Uncle Moony ate all of the candy again, didn’t you?”

Lily didn’t think it was possible for a five-year-old to make two grown men look so shameful, but Harry managed it somehow. (She wasn’t sure if she was more enamored by James or Harry by this point. She was leaning towards the latter.)

“Well, now you had Miss Lily walk all the way over here for nothing! Now she’s never gonna wanna be around us ever again, and it’s all your fault. I hope you’re happy with yourselves, you lost me and Dad our new friend.”

Lily wasn’t sure how exactly she was supposed to handle the situation, but it seemed as though the three other boys were determined to do all of the work with the upset five-year-old for her.

“It’s okay, Harry, I’m sure she’ll still be our friend. Now, why don’t you go see if you can beat Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus up the stairs to get ready for bed.”

He sent a smirk to Lily at the sound of Sirius and Remus frantically chasing after the five-year-old with an invisibility cloak. At the sound of the upstairs door closing, the amused look disappeared and he suddenly exuded anxiety, his hand once again running through his hair. 

“I will still be your friend, by the way. You can tell Harry that he’s not getting rid of me that quickly.”

At her reassurance, he perked back up, smiling as he said, “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. Look, is there anything I can do to pay you back for walking all the way over here for him? I mean, I can’t give you any candy obviously, but I can offer you some booze? Or an IOU for a dinner?”

“You really don’t have to,” she felt uneasy taking anything since she had wanted to tag along, “But booze honestly sounds wonderful. What do you have?”

“Pretty much nothing here, sorry, Red. But, that’s not important because you two are going to go out and be friends while Remus and I watch over the little one. Lord knows that this git right here needs some socializing besides us and his parents. So, go have fun, enjoy the night, and don’t worry about Harry for once.”

James gave him a look for a couple of seconds before conceding and holding his hand out for the keys Sirius had in his hand.

“Are you okay with this, Lily? You can totally just go home if you want to. I would completely understand,” he said once the other man was safely back inside.

“James, I would love to spend some time with you, and I don’t have anything else to do tonight. Let’s go have fun. If what Sirius says is anything to go by, you definitely need it.”

He flashed her a dazzling smile. “Let’s go then.”

It really should have been a bit more surprising later when Lily found herself crammed into a bathroom stall in some bar nearby with James on his knees in front of her, her panties tucked into his back pocket for safekeeping. It really should have been a bit concerning when they came home to her house empty. It really should have been a bigger deal when she woke up the next morning to find someone else in her bed with her. And yet none of it was in the least way noteworthy to Lily, not when she was too busy focusing on the wonderful man with her.

_ Who needs replenishing charms,  _ she thought as she traced the sunlight patterns on James’ chest,  _ when you can have an unfairly attractive, single dad ex-quidditch player and the adorable, snarky five-year-old that comes along with him.   _

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on Tumblr @lamelylimes!


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